Repair details/ photos, meeting with Dr, healing strategy

Dr. Saliman explained a bit about the root repair and told me that after a week, "there is zero chance it has healed by now."  Which is obvious, but I needed to hear it.  It has changed my behavior.  I am now wearing the soft brace all the time and being much more conservative with movements.  He said that if that root repair gets loose, it may not heal.  Definitely needed to hear that too.  As he said, it was a "nasty tear."

The main radial tear was 1 cm from the native root site, my question was about how the root placement was handled.  It was an unusual repair as the root tear was 1 cm from the attachment, the longest distance from the native root attachment which root repairs are normally made.  On the diagram below, the tear was full width through the area at an oblique angle.  The typical 'type 4' (LaPrade term) oblique tear shown below is closer to the root, mine was further but extending into the root.  (diagram is approximate, of course).   What made this repair unusual was that both sides of the tear, the long side and the root stump side were sutured and reattached to raw bone.  Dr. Saliman said, "we usually don't do this."  

The tear

Meniscus root and meniscus body attachments

Knots on the root repair, 3 circumferential stitches on right

Pulling the meniscus root(s) down to bone for healing

So, this was really a state of the art repair.  There is definitely a risk of failure.  I really want this to work so I'm going to be super cautious.  He said 50% weight bearing ok, I'm going non-weight bearing like I did last time.  

USATF Masters Nationals are ON! July 22 - Iowa St.

 I got the facebook post from Jerry at like 6 am... Masters Nationals are on!  Sacramento St. backed out and Iowa State put in a bid which was accepted.  

So, I'm off to Ames Iowa in July!

tempo 150s on turf, virus nation

 Cool and wet in Sewanee, 55º, light winds, moderate fog with visibilities occasionally down to 80m, track and turf were wet.    A bit sore from running hard 150s with spikes last time, so I stayed on the turf today.  Pretty much have abandoned the idea of racing Sat and I'm going into 'extensive tempo' off-season mode.  Nothing real fast.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100m

4 x 150m w/ 30 sec rest on turf ~ 23-24.5

2 x 150 on turf - 20.23, 20.17

 

Good to get it done.  900m of volume and the tempo set was tiring.  144.5 lbs after workout.

I'm exceptionally pissed right now at American leadership and the citizens that are spreading this virus.  My state had its highest day for deaths and infections yesterday.  I had a very high likelihood to have won 2 more National Masters titles, this past summer outdoors and this early spring, indoors... but such opportunities, due to the way our leadership has handled this pandemic, and the general science-denying attitude of Trump supporters, have all but sealed our fate as athletes.  Likely there will be no national or international masters competition for the next year 2021.  And, my world leading time in the 400m this year is also tainted, because it's not a normal year, but a 'covid year.'  Although posting times behind me are some pretty fast dudes, like Benoit Z. - world champion in 2015 and 2017, Trevor Y. - Aussie national record holder and Silver medalist in Perth.  

The US just saw it's highest day of infections also on Friday, more than double the number of the April peak.  The decision on the World Championships will be made by Jan 15, right at the time the pandemic may be peaking in the US.   Slim chance they'll go ahead with it, and the ultimate indignity would be if they did, and banned the USA.  Finland has 1/20th the covid death rate of the US and I'm sure they are appalled at the way it is being handled here.  

Trump is going around the country giving super spreader rallies, one most recently at my parents retirement community, and almost no one is wearing masks.  An analysis shows these rallies are actively spreading the virus.  It's a terrible situation and the foundation for this terrible spike in infections and deaths has already been put in place, due to irresponsible and ignorant leadership, and public science denial.  Not much we can do about it now, except hunker down and avoid the dumbass super spreaders.  This is not just 'my opinion' ... it is the opinion of the world's leading medical journal:  The New England Journal of Medicine, whose article stated the Trump administration has: "taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy. The magnitude of this failure is astonishing"

But for me personally, my colleges are doing pretty well, only about 50 infected at MTSU, and only a couple in Sewanee.  Sewanee's testing facility is first class.  And they are doing saliva tests, so no uncomfortable nose swabs.  It's very safe here, they have an initiative called 'protect the bubble.'   This university was founded in the 19th century as a refuge for people to escape pandemics, because of the isolated nature of this place.  It's a good place to be.

Stay safe my friends, it's going to be a rough winter.

Here's a photo from my 2nd Raccoon Mtn bike climb on Mon.

Cardio health part 2

Well, I had my first CT calcium scan of my heart yesterday.  The machine was a low dose state of the art GE which was reassuring.  The actual scan took just a few minutes.

My calcium plaque score was ZERO.  yes!

That is a perfect result, essentially indicating almost a zero chance of heart disease or heart attack in the next 15 yrs, according to studies.  A zero score isn't that unusual, if I read the stats correctly, about 1/3 of white males age 57 tested get a zero result.   That being said, false negatives are possible with some blockage material being too low density to be seen on such a scan.  But, I'm encouraged.

It affirms the benefits of the fact that I haven't eaten beef or pork for 26 yrs, and only recently started occasionally eating poultry.   And, I've never allowed myself to become overweight or obese, never having exceeded a BMI of 25.

Unlike some who might celebrate this result with steak and ice cream, I'm going to persevere with the dietary recommendations that were given to me as mentioned in my previous post.

Sugar
As someone stated, one of my risk factors is triglycerides and that makes sense because I've not been able to correct is my massive intake of sugar.   Now, I say sugar, and we all know sugar is sugar, but I am very particular about the sugar I use.  I use only 2 types of sugar exclusively:  1) raw turbinado or 2) pure maple.   If you have to eat sugar, these are miles better than white sugar, and they taste soooo much better too.  I have not ever purchased granulated white sugar.   But I will tell you this:  I would opt for the deadly pure white sugar in a heartbeat before I'd take a chemical sweetener like aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame, or any of the others.    I hate chemical sweeteners with a passion.  It sickens me to see how pervasive sucralose has become.  I read labels religiously before I buy anything.

I consume almost all of my sugar in coffee or tea, which I probably also drink too much of.  I use sweet coffee and tea to ward off hunger when I am cutting fat off my body in preparation for race season.   Even in the widest swings, I'm only varying 10 or 11 lbs maximum.  To get that last 5 lbs of firm fat off prior to competition, takes some extraordinary measures.  Like eating one main meal a day and completely eliminating starchy carbs.   Essentially fish and vegetables, nuts and fruit.

Today, I tried a natural zero calorie sweetener blend of stevia and monk fruit.  It was ok in my oat bran, but terrible in tea.  But it was ok in cappuccino, not great.

So, I'm going to try and kick the sugar habit for a while and see how it goes.  I've decided that it's ok to eat some artisan baked wheat bread.  But oat bran + flax seed cereal and blueberries will be my go to in the morning, or for the first meal ... instead of sugar and caffeine.

What is healthy?  I guess olive oil is NOT
Everyone talks about the benefits of olive oil and the 'Mediterranean Diet.'  Olive oil is high in mono unsaturated fat.  Well guess what: studies in apes show monounsaturated-fat-rich diet and saturated-fat-rich diet were equally damaging. That's right, olive oil was no better than saturated fat.

“The monkeys fed monounsaturated fat developed equivalent amounts of coronary artery atherosclerosis as those fed saturated fat,” wrote Dr. Lawrence Rudel and colleagues at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston–Salem, North Carolina. “The point here is, we’ve got to look beyond blood lipids. We’ve got to examine exactly what happens to our arteries,” asserts Dr. Jay Kenney, Nutrition Research Specialist at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida. As this very important long-term study on monkeys demonstrates, “better” blood lipids do not necessarily lead to better arteries. Though the monkeys on the mono-fat-rich diet had lower LDLs and higher HDLs than the monkeys on the sat-fat-rich diet, they ended up with the same amount of damage to their arteries.

So what is it about the 'Mediterranean Diet?'  Well, it's really not just the diet, it's the lifestyle.  If you are a farmer or a sheep herder in coastal Mediterranean community, you're on your feet and walking up hills a lot.  THAT is what gives the benefit as much as diet.  In the diet, it's not so much the olive oil but the other stuff:

 “The beneficial components of the Mediterranean diet,” concluded Robert Vogel, MD, and colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, “appear to be antioxidant-rich foods, including vegetables, fruits, and their derivatives such as vinegar, and omega–3–rich fish…

So, read this article if you think olive oil is so great. Apparently, the science say it's not. The science supporting claims that monounsaturated fats are heart protective is weak, based largely on population studies, not controlled trials. Whatever modest health benefits are associated with consuming olive oil are largely due to the beneficial plant chemicals, such as polyphenols and plant sterols, found in the extra virgin olive oils, but these plant chemicals are largely lost in the more processed ‘light’ olive oils... the kind my mother tends to use, unfortunately.

The article is full of scientific references, some studies of course better, larger and more conclusive than others.  But the bottom line is that all fats are generally bad in excess.   However, my personal experience is that fats seem to affect my blood sugar and put weight on me far LESS than starchy carbs.

I guess it's back to that old saying.... everything in moderation.

Study: Best type of exercise

As reported in the NYT ... a study by the Mayo Clinic, published in Cell Metabolism journal this month evaluates the affect that certain types of exercise have on cellular health of muscles, the ability of mitochondria to produce energy for muscle cells, the gains in muscle mitochondrial function, and muscular maintenance and hypertrophy.

"The toll that aging takes on a body extends all the way down to the cellular level. But the damage accrued by cells in older muscles is especially severe, because they do not regenerate easily and they become weaker as their mitochondria, which produce energy, diminish in vigor and number. A study ... suggests that certain sorts of workouts may undo some of what the years can do to our mitochondria" . -- NYT

Study subjects, including a group over 64, was measured on aerobic fitness, their blood-sugar levels, and the gene activity and mitochondrial health in their muscle cells. The study group was divided into 4 groups:

• 1) no exercise 
• 2) vigorous weight training several times per week 
• 3) high intensity interval training three times per week 
• 4) moderate biking for 30 min few times a week, light weights

Results found in the biopsied muscle cells among the older subjects indicate a change in genes believed to influence the ability of mitochondria to produce energy for muscle cells.

The subjects who did the high intensity interval workouts showed the most increases in the number and health of their mitochondria, almost 400 genes were working differently now, compared with 33 for the weight lifters and only 19 for the moderate exercisers.

It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was “corrected” with exercise, especially if it was intense, says Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, a professor of medicine and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s senior author. In fact, older people’s cells responded in some ways more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did — suggesting, he says, that it is never too late to benefit from exercise. -- NYT 

Here again, more evidence to suggest the benefits of high intensity interval training (HIIT),  especially for older people.  HIIT reverses aging on the cellular level.